Device for navigating ships in locks



June 20, 1944. BREITWIESER 2,351917 DEVICE FOR-NAVIGATING sxrs IN LOCKSFiled Aug. 23, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet June 20, 1944. w s 2,35L917 'DEVICEFOR NAVIGATING SHIPS IN LOCKS I Filed Aug. 23, 1939 2 sheets -sheet 2`Fiq. 10

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Patente cl June 20,' 1944 v i `2,351,917 g DEVICE FOR NAvrGA'rING snrs'IN LOCKS Heinrich BreitwiesegGriesheim; near Datmstadt., I

Germany; vested in the Alien Property Custo dian Application August 23,1939, Serial No. 291,61`0

In Germany August 27,'1938 e Claims.

This invention relates to navigation looks, and more particularly tonovel means for towing a ship through the lock.

In locks utilizing gates' which are shiftable horizontally across theship channel to provide I the lock chamber, it has heretofore beenregarded as'difiicult to provide -a `towing mechanism'located below thetop -of the side-walls of the ship channel, *that is in the side-wallitself, because such an arrangement would interfere with the operationof the horizontally shiftable lock'ga'tes whose top edges are 'locatedeither above the surface of the lock walls, as for example, wherea dikemust be employed at one side of the lock, or, even where the top edge ofthe gate is fiush with and exposed at the upper surface of the lockwall. Taking these factors into consideration, the present invention hasin View a con struction which eliminates the difficulties -hereto' foreencountered by providing sectional articulated towing racks soconstructed as to be uncoupled to provide in effect an intermediateelement or section to which the ship is connected, and end sectionswhich may be connected with and disconnected from said intermediateelement a as'the vessel progresses through the lock structure wherebysaid sections maybe separatedand shifted so that the gates which 'formthe lock c'hamber may be readily' moved when des'ired withoutinterference by any part of the towing rack. On the other hand, when thegates'are retracted to permit movement of the vessel' into and out ofthe lock chamber, a transfer track section carried by the gateeifectivelybridges the gap that would otherwise exist for insuringtransfer of the rack means from one alined track section to the other.suitable propelling means are provided for the :manipulation of the racksections as the vessel progresses 'through the various stages of thelock and at thesame time effectively tow the vessel 'properly through thship channel. i

With the foregoing general objects in View; other objects 'will appearas the description proceeds and the nature of 'the *invention is betterunderstood.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a'lock installation according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view taken through the shipchannel showing the ship in the approach section `with one of the'lockates retracted and the other closed. i

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the tion of Fig.- 2, to movetheship into the intermediate lock chamber.

Fig. 4 is a View similar toFig. 3, showing both of the lock -gatesclosed a fter the ship has been elevated to the levelreq-uired to`leave=the exit section -of the lock. V I I Fi'g. 5 i also a vertical -diagr ammaticjsectional view through the ship channel `showing `one ofthe gates closed and the othergate retracted to permit the ship 'toleave the lock chamher, the towing rack bei'n-g--shown'in `itsarthestadvanced position. v jj i -*Fi-g. 6 is a vertical transvers'esectional view taken' at the 'location of one of thesl-iding gates andshowing the gate in r etracted position' Fig'. 7 is a detailvertical'section'al` View of 'the upper edge of `-one of the side wallsof the ship channel illustra'ting the guidewayj'o'r slot provided 'belowthe surface'of the lock structure and also showing th'e track means forreceiv ing the towingrack i Fi'g. 8 is a fragmentary elevation of theupper corner of the gate having a transfer track section projectingtherefromandwhich 'is adapted to aline with the'main track sectionin'the wall of the ship channel when the gate is retracted.

Fig. 9 is 'a detail vertical sectional 'View illustrating the enlargedguideway or s'lot *respectively in the side-wall of the approach' andexit ends of the ship channel and i having therein double track sectionswhich communicate' with each 'other at one end 'to accommodateandreceive two connected 'sections of the articulated rack when the'latter is :located at either .the approach or exit ends of thestructure.

fig. 10 isa diagrammatic plan 'view illustrating a modification" of thetowing means wherein a towing -rack section .isconnected with 'a.comparatively heavy carriage .connected :with ship engaging means; i tFig. .11 'is a detailwertical sectional View :of the'modified guideway.or slot in the side wall of the ship :channel as usedin Fig. 10.

Figt 1 2 is a fragmentary' vertical sectional view of the upper corner'ofthe lock' .gate :shown in Fig. 1:0;

i F'g. '13 is a detailview .illustratng 'a -form`-.-of

'rack and driving 'means therefor 'according .to

showing a portion of the side of the vessel illustowing means' advancedfrom the initial "posi- 55 trating how the stays are connected to theship. 'Similar reference characters desgnate corre water level to ahigher water level, but, on the other hand, if it is desired to drop theship from the higher water level to alower water level, the exit sectionbecomes the approach section and the operation of the'towing'mechanismwill be' just the reverse of that about to-'be' described.

In Fig. 1, the entrance to the lock is designated generally as l and isformedbythewallsZ and z 3 of the approach section. The lock chamber 4 isormed by the sliding gates 5 and 6. Theexit portion of the ship channelis designated as 1, and is defined" by the spaced ,walls 8 and 9. i Atone end of the lock structure a dikeJO -.l i ;m ay be provided Thehorizontally shiitable or slidablejgate 5 is locatedat the said dikesand its upper` edgeis preerably flush with the top of the dike. On theother hand, thtop of the sliding gate 6 'may be flush with the uppersurface of the walls of the ship channel consisting oi thesections|,4and1. g r 3 Below the upper surface of one of the wallsforming the ship. channel, there is provided aslot or guideway l3. Thisslot or guideway is; of course, continuous except ;for the interruptionsoccurring at the location of the -sliding gates. The saidguideway 13is-intended to receive suit able'uppen and lower track ;sections lswhich are longitudinally coextensive with the. guideway or slot exceptwhere the sliding. gates occur. y The guideway:l3.is preferably ofgreater depth at the approachsection l and exit section 'Ithan it is inthe intermediate section or lock chamber `4. The purpose of this greaterdepthis to accommodate a lower traok section |3 (see Fig. 9) whichcommunicatesat its outer endwith the upper or main track section-[S saas to permit the rack to double backupon itself` at theentrance and exitsections of the' lock, as will hereinafter more fullyappear. i

` The track sections !3 and l3*?;are intended to receive an articulatedrack which preferably consists of the end section !4, the' intermediatesec-w tion 22 and the end section,l 6. The said sections 14 and 16 areintended to be connected and dis:

connected at their inner endswiththe adja-cent ends of the intermediate.rack *section 22, said section'22 constituting' in efl'ect: the racksection which'stays with the ship 18 during its entire progress throughthe lo'ck structure. The pur pose of'making the section' 22 `detachablefrom the end sections is to permit the end sections to be moved clearrofthe positions of the gates 5 and B'in order'that they may 'behorizontally shifted to closing position when, required. I i

The rack sections l4, IS and-22 maybe of'any, Construction suitable forthe purpose. However, as will be observed from Figs. 13 and 14,; said'rackspreferably consist of a plurality of links a: connected -by crossmembers 'y 'which r arei so spaced as to permit the power driven'drivinggear 15 to engagetherewith; The said links at their point of pivotalconnection with each ,other are' provided With-rollers or wheels z whichride in the track sections 13 and 1 13. It will, of course, berunderstood rom Figs. ,1-5 that'the power driven gear device 15is-located at :one of the end sections of the lock, and a similar powerdriven device l'l is associated with the other end section of the lock.When the ship !8 enters the approach section l, the power device l5 willengage the intermediate rack section 22 which is connected to the shipby suitable stay elements l9. The said stay elements 19 may also be of-ny construction suitable for the purpose. By 'wa'y of illustration,Fig. 14 shows the stay elements [9 which have their inner ends lsconnected to a rod or bar, which is in fact an extension of one of thecross rods 2/ of the chain and terminates in an eye l9 The said innerends ls may be bolted or otherwise detachably secure'd to [t i` Theopposite ends of each stay are preferably provided with vertical hollowtubularguide portions |9 which are intended to slidably receive theguides !9% carried by the side of the ship. The upper ends of theseguides 'may befitted to the deck of the vessel as shown at l axby anysuitable form .of clamping means, and the lower ends of saidguides maybesecured to the side of the vessel by -fitting' in the eyes or thetubular b-rackets 19 carried by the hull. It will, of course, ,be:understood that the rack section 22 is connected with the .racksection!4, which, while the ship is in theapproach section lies within-thelower track section ls as will appear from Fig. 2, f rom whichit-will be seen thatthe `gate 5,is in its retracted position. When thegate 5 is so retracted, the transfer track section |3 (Fig 8),projecting from the upper corner of the gatelwill aline with the tracksections l3 so that the towing rack may be shifted from the approachsection I toward the lock charnberfi. This shifting is accomplished bythe power driven device l5 engaging the leading end of the towing rack22 which is connected with the ship. Thepower driven device 'pulls therack section 22 totow the ship from the approach section into the lockchamber, and when the rear end of section 22 has passed the point of thepower driven -apparatus l5, the rack section [4 will continue to pushthe ship into the lock cham ber. When the ship has advanced to theposition indicatedat 2l. (Fig. 3) the rack section |4 may bedisconnected-from the rack section 22 and before the gate 5 is closedthe power driven device 15 may be operated toamove the section M backinto the track section l3 of the approach section. Thegate 5 may thenbeclosed (Fig. 4) and the ;lock chamber 4- maythen be filled with waterto a .level. corresponding with the water level in the exitsections I."This is also indicated in Fig. 4. .The gate 5 remains-closed and thegate 6 may thenbe opened so that the rack section IS of the exitsection-1 may be manipulated by the power driven'device -l 1- to permitits inner end to be connected withthe ;intermediate rack section 22connected to the ship. 'In order to 'accomplish-thisshifting Of thesection !6, across the position of the gate 6, it will, of course, 'beundrstood that the gate-ii -is provided with a transfer track section'which-is a duplicate of the transfertrack section 13 carried by the gate5, as shown in Fig. 8.

After the towing rack section IE has been connected with the; racksection-22, the power drven device'` I'l is again 'operated so as topull the-connected rack sections IS and 22 in the trackway l totheposition shown in Fig. 5. From -this figure; it will 'be apparentthat the rack sectionglli is fedgfrom the upper into the lowertracksection 3 (Fig.=9) o-the exit secdemand-:the hip onn c ed i term es n 22 -is still in engagement with the power device n. When the ship leis in 'the position 22 of the exit section (Fi'g. it may be disconnectedfrom the intermediate towing section 22 and 'proceed under `its ownpower.

The rack sections 16 and 22 may be left conntcted as shown at 'the'right hand end 'of Fig. 5 if desired, to receive a ship 'which maydesire to proceed in the opposite direction. On the otherhand, ifanother ship enters the 'lock and intends to proceed in the samedirection as the ship -l`8, the towing rack sections :wand 22 'areuncoupled or disc'onnected and the section 22 is moved toward the'approach section l by the power mechanism 5'l1' and 'the towing section[4, in its turn, may be moved by the .power mechanism to connect with'the *oppo'site end .of the section 22 and bring 'it back to theposition shown at the left-hand end oftFi 2.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, theessential difference over the Construction shown in Figs. 1 to 9, isthat only two articulated rack sections need be employed, but theequivalent `'of .the third rack section 'is present in the form ofcarriages which may be connected with the ship and are capable of 'beingcoupled and uncoupled with 'the two articulated track sections, the said:carriages Operating in enlarged portions of the slots or guideways, intheir own trackways, in 'such enlarged portions as will presently appearmore 'in detail.

Fig. Io is a diagrammatic plan View, illustrating a horizontallyshiftable gate 23 adapted to be housed in a gate chamber 24, the saidgate when .projected across the 'ship channel being adapted to separatethe lock chamber 25 from the approach chamber 26. The `ship -21 isanchored to the travelling towing carriages 28 by the aid of fasteningmeans 39. The said towing carriages 28 and 29 which correspond infunction to the intermediate rack section 22, are located in theenlarged guideway 3l in one of the side walls of the ship channel andare provided with top, bottom and side guide rollers 32 intended toengage suitable track elements 32 (see Fig. 11). 31, the side wall ofthe ship channel is provided with a guideway l3 which receives thearticulated rack section 33 adapted to travel in the tracks sa, saidrack section comprising links and cross members mounted on rollers forengaging the tracks substantially in the same manner as shown in Figs.13 and 14. The rack section 33 is adapted to be operated by a powerdevice 35 shown in Fig. 10 in the same manner as the corresponding endsections of the rack in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

The gate 23, as shown in Fig. 12, is provided at its upper outer portionwith an enlarged horizontal recess or cavity located below the surfaceof the gate and identified as 36, which permits the elongated towingcarriages, 28 and 29 to clear the gate when in its retracted position,as shown in Fig. 10. The gate is also provided inwardly of the recess 36with a smaller recess 36 which houses the transfer track sections 31intended to aline with the track sections 34 to permit the articulatedrack section 33 to be guided across the gate in its retracted position,and also to permit the rack section to move the towing carriages 28 and29 coupled thereto to properly tow the ship through the various sectionsor stages of the lock.

As will be apparent from Fig. 10, the carriages 28 and 29 may be coupledand uncoupled with the In the rear of the enlarged guideway,

.til

selected articulatedzrack section .by .means of the coupling devicedia-grammatically indicated 'at and '39.

`When the gate '23 water, provisionmust be made 'toprevent water`passing from `one 'side 'of the gate 'to the other through the recess36.` This is accomplished by a sluice 48-(Fig. 12) which is moved withinthe gate 'between the separated ends of the transfer track sections 31`carried by thegate by a propelling device 41 in such a manner, that therecess 36 can be closed when the gate is closed, as illustrat'ed indotted lines in Fig. '10. The propelling 'device M preferably includes agear 42 carried by a'motor driven shaft; the said gear engaging with arack 43 carried by the rear end of .the sluice 40.

In .the construction shown in Figs. 10 and 12, it will :be understoodthat when the ship 21 enters the approach section 26, the towingcarriages 28 and 29 are coupled to' the end rack section' 33 and arealso connected to the iship by the fastening means 39. As the .powerdevice35 propels the articulated rack 33, the carriages 28 and 29 will'move with it, and assuming that the gate 23 is open, as shown in Fig..10, the ship will advance from the approach section 26 to the lockchamber 25. With the ship in this position (Fig. 10), the carriages-28.and 29 may be uncoupled from the articulated rack 33 by releasingthe coupling devices '38 and 39 which `may-be in the form of an armextending inwardly fromthe rear side of the carriage and an. arm'extending outwardly from the rack, said arms being at differentelevations so thatth'ey may pass .each other and each having an eyeadaptedtoregister with the other to receive a, coup'ling` pin'as shownin Fig. 11. 'Since the carriages 28 and 29 travel in their own tracks 32and likewise the articulated rack 33 travels in its own trackway, thepower device 35 may be operated to pull the articulated rack 33 fullyback into the approach section, leaving the carriages 28 and 29 in thepositions which they occupy when detached from the rack. It will, ofcourse, be understood that after the vessel 21 is moved into the lockchamber 25 and the articulated rack 33 is disconnected from thecarriages, the lock gate 23 will be moved to closed position. In otherwords, the rack 33 must be moved out of the way before the gate 23 canbe closed.

After the lock chamber 25 has been filled with water to the desiredlevel to elevate the ship, the outlet gate of the lock chamber may beopened and the articulated rack section (not shown) corresponding to therack section !6, may be moved from the exit section into the lockchamber section on the tracks 31 and then coupled at 38 and 39 with theexit rack section. The exit rack section 'may then be moved by itsassociated power device to tow the ship out of the approach section inthe same manner as described in connection with Figs. 1-9.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present inventioncontemplates a navigation lock wherein the towing means is located belowthe surface of the lock structure and essentially consists of aplurality of shiftable sections i which may be connected anddisconnected to is c'losed, in the event of high gate chambers.interrupting said guideway, track means in said guideway and alsointerrupted at the gate chambers, a transfer track section carried byeach gate, and ship towing means shift- 'able in the track means ofsaidguideway and the transfer track sec-tion of a .gatevwhen the latter isopened, said towing means ,comprising a plurality of detachable sectionsadapted to be uncoupled and separated, thereby to be moved clear of thegates and permita selected gate` to be closed. t

2. A navigation lock according to, claim 1, wherein the towing meansconsists of two articu- Iated end rack sections and aishiftableintermediate section detachably and selectively connectable with eitherend section, and means for connecting the intermediate section with aship.

3. A navigation lock according to claim '1, wherein the towing consistsof two end rack sec.- tions and an intermediate 'section slidable insaid track means and detachably and selectively connectable with eitherend section, means for connecting the intermediatesection with a ship,and separate driving means for propelling each end section and theintermediate section when connected thereto.

4. A navigation lock according to claim 1, wherein the edge of the gatecarrying the transfer track section is also provided with a recess toregister with said guideway, and a sluice arranged in said gate andadapted to close said recess in the case *of high water.

5. A navigation lock comprising aship channel having approach and exitsections on opposite sides of a lock chamber, a pair of horizontallyslidabie gates defining the-;lock chamber, a continuous gudeway formedin a wall of the ship channel below the surface of said wall, the endsof said guideway at the approach and exit sections being of greaterdepth than the portion of theguideway in the lock chamber, trackmeansiin the guideway interrupted at the location of said gates, said trackmeans in the approach and 5 exit ends of the ship channel comprisingupper -and lower ,communicating track sections, a tow- `ing,rackconsisting of end and intermediate sec- :tions adapted to be coupled anduncoupled and shiftahle in said track means, means for connect- '10 'ingthe .intermediate section of said rack with a ship, -power devicesassociated with said track means respectively adjacent the end of theapproach section and the beginning of the exit section and havingpropelling engagement with said rack sections, a transfer track sectioncarried by the gateand adapt'edtoaline with, the track -meansin saidguideways when the gate is retracted to bridge the aforesaidinterruption in said track means.

6. 'A navigation lock, including in combination, 'a side wall ofthe shipchannel having a guideway therein below the top edge of 'said wall, saidguideway including a relatively wide outer portion having a trackwaytherein and a relatively narrow inner portion also having a trackwayttherein, sliding gates retractble and' projectible from said side wallhaving a guideway and slidable from chambers interrupting said guideway,said gates having recesses in one edge corresponding to the saidguideway, one. of said recesses including a-transfer track section,articulated towing rack sections shiftable in the trackways of thenarrow inner portions of said guideway, sep- 'arate power' driven meansfor sh'fting said rack sections, ship anchoring carrages shiftable inthe trackway arranged in the wide outer portion of the guideway, andmeans for detachably connecting the carriages to a selected racksection.

" i I-IEINRICH BREITWIESER.

